Entbehrung 'Hardship'
by KatonRyu
Summary: After the anime. Lucy returns to the Maple Inn, making Kouta feel really happy. But how does Yuka feel about it? And what happens when Lucy gets very sick? Yukafans, DON'T read this
1. Sickness

**Entbehrung (Hardship)**

Disclaimer: I don't own Elfen Lied or any of its characters. I do own Torashi Torichi.

"Did you get hurt?" the young man asked. His blue eyes were full of worry.

"It's no big deal," the one-horned girl replied. Her head hurt like hell, but she didn't want him to know. She sat next to him on the cold stone staircase.

"When I was a child, I had a girl with whom I used to play," the boy said. He turned to her and asked, "Nyu, was it you?"

It was silent for a moment, then the girl said, "I was born to destroy humans."

The boy looked up, startled by her words.

"In five years…within five years I can make half of the newborn kids part of my species. But if the world becomes like this, you won't survive. Kouta, you are a little dream that appeared all of a sudden in this hell. The days I spent with you were...I…" She turned away, not wanting Kouta to see the tears in her eyes. "…always wanted to apologize…That's how I managed to survive until now."

She looked in his eyes, tears now flowing down her face.

She got up and started to walk away, but Kouta yelled, "Don't go!" and wrapped his arm around her.

"Why? I murdered your family."

"I don't understand! I won't forgive you for killing Kanae-chan and my father."

She turned her head away, fighting against the tears.

"But…but…If you hurt people again I will surely, again regret it forever. That little girl…that sad girl…Nyu…I really like all of them."

"Kouta…" she whispered and grabbed his arm. She couldn't hold her tears back any longer. She turned around and kissed Kouta. Memories from eight years ago flashed through her mind; how she had met Kouta, when he came to those woods to sketch the scenery, their day at the zoo, their fight in the small river, and the music box, with its sad tune that was so beautiful. She broke away from the kiss and looked Kouta in the eyes.

"I wanted to be by your side, forgetting everything."

"Nyu…"

"I made you go through so much pain. I'm sorry."

"You too…you too…have suffered so much."

She smiled. Even now, Kouta was still so worried about her. Kouta hugged her tight, and she hugged him back. It was the best she had ever felt. A last tear rolled from her cheek.

"Get ready!" one of the soldiers shouted. The girl faced them calmly. "Fire!" A hail of bullets flew toward her. She shot her vectors up in a high arc, not trying to block the storm of fire that raged around her. She felt an explosion of pain when her last horn was shot off, and her last thought before she blacked out was, 'Goodbye Kouta…I love you…'

Lucy woke up in a haze of pain. For a moment, she didn't even realize where she was. She tried looking up, but a voice said, "Don't move, I've sort of treated your wound, but with all the blood loss it's a miracle that you're still alive."

Lucy was startled when she heard that voice. Bandou, the commando she'd almost killed twice, and the only human who had ever given her a challenge.

"Why…would you…help me?" she gasped.

"Well, let's just say that I owed you one. You let me escape the second time, so it's only natural I won't let you die now. If anyone kills you, it'll be me, not some nameless dickhead."

Lucy would've smiled, if she hadn't felt excruciating pain.

"I guess…you'll just…have to wait…till I'm…a little better."

Bandou chuckled. "I will. I'm not someone who tries hard to save someone, only to kill him five minutes later. Don't worry, I'm not with the police or anyone anymore, and I won't attack the Maple Inn, so that will be a safe place for you. By the way, we're not on the main road anymore. I killed the soldiers and took you to a smaller road that leads straight to the Maple Inn. Rest up a little, and when you think you can stand, go to the Inn. As soon as you're in there, I'll kill you if I see you outside again."

Lucy stayed silent. The few words she had said had taken all her strength, and she lost consciousness again.

Lucy woke up again, feeling light-headed. She did feel a little better than when she had passed out, though. She tried to get up, and succeeded after two failed attempts. Her legs felt like jelly and her vision was fuzzy. She did realize, however, that it wasn't night anymore. She hadn't been surprised that she hadn't been found, lying there on the street, since the soldiers were dead and the roads closed off. Slowly, she began to walk. Her head hurt with each step she took, and she feared her legs would collapse, but she moved. Panting heavily, she reached the staircase to the Maple Inn, which had only been about 100 meters from her 'hospital bed.' Leaning against the wall, she climbed up the long staircase, and cursed it for not being shorter. Eventually she reached the top, and saw through blurry eyes the gate of the Maple Inn.

But the climb had had a devastating effect on her. The pain in her head seemed to have spread through her entire body, and she really thought she would be dead before she reached the gate. In her whole life, she'd never felt so much pain. Nothing ever came close to this agony. But the thought of dying without seeing Kouta one last time was unbearable for her, so she kept going. Then, after what seemed like an eternity of pain, she reached the gate. She didn't have the strength to knock though. Fortunately, Wanta started barking when she approached, so she was sure someone would come and check. Soon after Wanta started barking, she heard footsteps, and then the sound of an old clock.

"It's working…" she heard a voice say. Even in the zombie-like state she was in, Lucy recognized the voice. It was Kouta. Seconds later, the gate was opened. Lucy felt enormous happiness, and then everything started to spin and fade very quickly.

"Hello, can I…" Kouta's voice trailed off when he recognized the person at the gate. "Nyu! You're back! But how…" It was only then that he saw that Lucy's other horn was gone as well. "Oh my god, Nyu!" he yelled, as she collapsed into his arms.

"She's burning up! We have to get some cold water!" Mayu yelled.

"I'll go get it!" Nana replied.

Slowly, Lucy was returning to the conscious world. She felt incredibly hot. To make things worse, the pain in her body was still present too, with even worse pain in the stumps of her horns.

"Kou…ta…" she whispered.

"I'm here, don't worry," Kouta said. He had been sitting in a chair in the corner of the room; Yuka had put him there because she thought he was too nervous to take care of Lucy right now. Now he got up and sat on his knees on the floor next to her bed.

"I'm here," he said again. "What happened?" he asked softly.

"Don't strain her, she's very weak Kouta," Yuka, who had just entered the room, said.

Kouta turned around with a pained look in his eyes. "I know, I just…" he stopped as Lucy interrupted him. "I…love…you…Kouta…"

Kouta smiled and said, "I love you too, Nyu."

Lucy suddenly remembered that she had never told her true name to Kouta, not even when they were kids. She wanted to tell Kouta now, but he said, "You should sleep now, in a few days you'll start to feel better."

Lucy didn't have much choice but to listen to the advice, but the heat made it impossible. Nana entered the room with a bowl of cold water, and drenched a small towel in it. She placed it on Lucy's forehead, and Lucy immediately felt the relief of the coolness. After a few minutes, she fell into a deep sleep.

When Lucy woke up again, she felt much better. The pain in her body was gone, only her head still hurt like hell, but it was only a fraction of the agony she'd endured a couple of days before. She sat up and looked around, to find that she was alone in her room. Just when she was about to get up, Kouta walked into the room.

"Thank god, you're awake," he said. "Let me check your temperature…" He placed his hand on her forehead and looked relieved. "Your fever is gone, that's good. How are you feeling?"

Lucy looked into his eyes, and a wave of emotion washed over her. Tears burned in her crimson eyes. She wrapped her arms around Kouta and hugged him so tightly he nearly couldn't breathe.

"I'm glad you're back, Nyu," Kouta said, sounding slightly strangled, but hugging Lucy back anyway.

Lucy let go of him and said, "I never told my real name, have I?"

Kouta shook his head. "No, I believe not," he said.

"My name is Lucy," she said.

"It's a beautiful name, but did you get it from your parents or in the facility?" Kouta asked.

"I got it from my parents. In the facility, I was only known as number one. The most important of all the Diclonius. I wasn't the strongest, I wasn't the fastest, but I was the most important, because I was the only one who could…breed." She said 'breed' like a curse word. "Why would you think they gave me that name? Why would they bother?"

"Well, Nana and Mariko have names too, right?"

"Yes, but they are the children of the director, and in Nana's case, she was number seven, so that's quite a logical name."

Kouta thought for a moment, and then he said, "That figures, I guess."

Lucy smiled and said, "Do you really like my real name?"

"Yes. There's nothing about you that I don't like."

Lucy knew he was partly lying, he couldn't possibly 'like' that she had killed his father and sister, but she got the idea. "My name is the one thing about myself that I really like," she said, smiling.

Kouta smiled with her, and then he asked, "So, what exactly happened? I thought you had died in the gunfire I heard after you left."

Lucy's smile disappeared and she became serious again. "Bandou saved me. The commando that followed me after the massacre on the bridge."

Kouta looked surprised. "Why would he save the girl that nearly killed him?"

"I let him live, he said that because of that he owed me one. If I go outside and he finds me, he'll try to kill me again." Lucy didn't say that Bandou knew where she was, she didn't want to make Kouta more worried than he already was.

"Do you feel well enough to get up? I'm about to eat some lunch. Yuka, Mayu and Nana are in the city buying stuff for dinner." Lucy suddenly realized that she was incredibly hungry and got up quickly. Immediately, she became so dizzy that she nearly passed out, but Kouta held her gently.

"Take it easy. You're still weak from your injuries. Here, you can lean on me for support."

Lucy put her arm around his shoulder, and walked with him to the dining room. She sat down, and Kouta said, "I'll go make some ramen; it'll be done in about ten minutes."

"Can I help you with anything?" Lucy asked. She hated doing nothing.

"No, you just relax. I don't want you to get hurt worse than you already are," Kouta said, smiling at her.

Lucy looked at him until he entered the kitchen. She was still amazed by him. She had killed his father and sister, killed many more people, and still he didn't reject her. He looked after her, cared for her, loved her. She really didn't understand that human. If someone had killed her family and friends she'd… She stopped the thought. Someone _had_ killed her family and so-called friends. She had.

Kouta came back into the room, holding two bowls of ramen. He placed one in front of her, and placed the other bowl on the other side of the table. He went into the kitchen again and returned with the pan that contained the rest of the ramen. "Itadakimasu!" Lucy and Kouta said at the same time and started eating. The moment Lucy swallowed the first bit of ramen she really felt the true extent of her hunger. She kept eating until she felt like she was gonna burst.

Kouta looked at her with amazement. Lucy had eaten more than Nana usually did, and that was next to impossible. By the time his bowl was empty, Lucy had already eaten three quarters of the pan.

"I guess you were hungry…" Kouta muttered affectionately. Lucy was a bit embarrassed, but she smiled anyway. Every time she saw Kouta she felt happy.

She had come so close to death, but she had survived thanks to Bandou, and now, something she had thought impossible had happened: She was living with Kouta, the only person who had ever loved her.

"I guess we'd better clean up, Yuka and the others will be home any second now and I don't feel like having a pointless argument," Kouta said.

"I'll help you. I can't do nothing, I hate that," Lucy said.

"Well, I guess nothing could happen if you help me wash the dishes," Kouta said with a smile.

Lucy smiled too; she was glad that she would finally be able to do something again; even it was something extremely boring like washing the dishes. They had just placed the bowls back in the cabinet when they heard, "We're back!" from the hallway.

"Welcome home!" Kouta yelled back.

Yuka walked into the kitchen, followed by Nana and Mayu, who were both carrying heavy bags. Nana's arms hung limp, the bags seemed to float in the air. When she saw that Kouta was looking, she said, "If I use my prosthetics, my arms kinda fall off, the bags are too heavy. I have to use only vectors to carry them, and if I do that, I can't move my arms because I normally use my vectors to control them."

"I see…" Kouta said, slightly amused by Nana's simple solution. Apparently, it hadn't occurred to her that most people get kinda freaked out by floating shopping bags. But it seemed like it hadn't caused them any trouble.

"Nyu, you're awake! Good to see you're up again," Yuka said.

"Actually, my name is Lucy," Lucy said. She was alarmed by the subtle anger in Yuka's voice. Lucy doubted that anyone else would've noticed it, but she knew that Yuka wasn't all that happy that she was out of bed again. Lucy thought that Yuka felt jealous because Yuka was also in love with Kouta, but Yuka shouldn't expect anything else, since Kouta was blood-related family to her. Yuka might be perverted, that didn't mean Kouta was too.

"How are you feeling, Lucy-san?" Mayu asked.

"My head hurts like hell, but other than that I'm okay," Lucy said.

"It's good that you're feeling better again," Mayu said with a smile.

"I'm gonna take a bath before dinner," Lucy said. "Kouta, why don't you come with me?"

She asked that for two reasons: One, because she wanted to be with Kouta as much as possible, two, because she knew that it would piss Yuka off greatly. Kouta blushed and said, "Uh, sure." Yuka sent him and Lucy a death glare and marched out of the kitchen. Lucy grinned evilly inwardly, but didn't look especially gleeful on the outside.

"This feels great!" Lucy said once she sat in the steaming hot water. It had been quite some time since she last took a bath, and she really loved it now. All the more because Kouta was in there with her. He had felt slightly awkward, but no more than on that day eight years ago, when they had had a water fight in a small river, and ended up sitting back to back naked while waiting for their clothes to dry.

"Lucy, it's really great that you're back," Kouta said. "That night, I was sure I'd never see you again, but you came back after all. The moment I saw you at the gate, you can't know how happy I was right then. And the fear when you just collapsed…"

Lucy hugged him and said, "Don't worry. This time I'm not going anywhere. I am where I want to be now."

Still, Kouta looked troubled. "But what of that prediction? That all newborn kids will be transformed into Diclonius?"

Lucy looked grim. "If it comes to that, I'll be powerless to stop them. I don't want to kill anymore. Those days are over for me."

"I'm glad about that. But you are needed for that operation, right? That transformation?" Kouta pressed.

Lucy knew what he wanted to hear. She wanted to lie, to tell him that there was nothing to worry about. But she couldn't.

"No. It's likely that they will push this through. But that will happen in five years, if we manage to turn the newborn Diclonius against that plan, than there won't be reason to have any fear."

Kouta thought about that with a frown, and Lucy didn't want him to worry, so she splashed water into his face. "Don't think about these things now. We'll deal with that when the time comes," she said. Kouta retaliated by pushing her under water for a second, but he let go almost immediately, fearing that he might have hurt her.

"I guess I deserved that," she said.

"Are you okay?" Kouta asked anxiously.

"Kouta, just because I nearly died a couple of days ago doesn't mean that I've become a fragile little girl," Lucy said.

"I know, I just don't want to open your wounds again," Kouta said defensively.

"Don't worry about me, Kouta. I'll be fine," Lucy said.

That night, Lucy slept in the same room as Kouta, much to Yuka's dismay.

"I love you…" Lucy whispered, and kissed Kouta. "

I love you too…" he whispered back.

After that, they just wrapped their arms around each other lay in complete silence while sleep slowly took them. No, they're not gonna do anything perverted; that breaks the romance

Lucy woke up in the middle of the night because someone was talking. She turned over and realized that it was Kouta. "Lucy…no…don't kill her, I love her…" Lucy smiled a little and gently shook Kouta to wake him up. "Lucy?" he asked. "I'm here. There's nothing to worry about, no-one's gonna kill me as long as I'm in this house," she said. "I know. Well, let's go back to sleep."

The days that followed were the best in Lucy's life. She was happy in the Maple Inn, living with Kouta and the others. She still didn't like Yuka very much, but she had started to like Nana, who had become friendlier to her after she had said she wasn't going to kill again.

But one day, something happened that ended the happiness. It was a nice day; it was warm, but not really hot outside, and all the chores that had to be done were finished. Lucy was in the garden with Kouta, when she suddenly felt like someone had hit her in the head with a red-hot sledgehammer. She dropped on her knees and her stomach turned upside down.

"Lucy! What's wrong?!" Kouta asked, alarmed.

Lucy couldn't answer. The pain was just too intense.

"Lucy! Oh shit…" Kouta was starting to panic now.

"Kouta? What's wrong?" Nana asked. She had heard Kouta yell when Lucy collapsed.

"Lucy…she…" That was all that Kouta could say.

Nana immediately saw that something was very wrong, and she went to get Yuka. Minutes later Lucy was in her bed, her head still exploding from the pain. Kouta was next to her bed, while Yuka tried to find the cause of the pain.

"Oh, shit…Kouta, look at this!" she said with a pale face. Kouta looked at the place Yuka indicated, the stump of her left horn. Kouta didn't know much about infections and such, but this wound was so bad everyone would've recognized it. Blood and pus flowed from the wound, Kouta was sure that that was the cause of the pain.

"We have to call a doctor or something," Yuka said.

Kouta looked at her with pained eyes. "We can't, for all we know they're still looking for her."

"But if we don't, things might get worse." Kouta looked at Lucy's face. How can I make such a decision? he wondered.

"Don't…don't…take…me…to…a…hos…pi…tal…" Lucy managed to whisper.

"Don't be stupid! If you stay the way you are, you might die," Yuka said.

"At least…that would…make you happy…" Lucy said.

"Why do you think that? I mean, yes, at first I did want you to die, but…if that happens…Kouta will be sad forever, and I don't want that," Yuka said, staring at the floor.

Kouta couldn't believe his ears. How could Yuka have wanted Lucy to die? Only because he loved Lucy more than her? That was disgusting. "You really wanted Lucy to die?!" Kouta demanded angrily.

"Yes. I know it's selfish, but I love you. If Lucy is gone, you'd start to see that."

Kouta shook his head. "I wouldn't. I never thought of you as that. I love Lucy." Tears were forming in Yuka's eyes, but Kouta didn't really care right then. He was worried about Lucy; he'd deal with Yuka as soon as Lucy was safe. Mayu and Nana were confused about Yuka's words, but they remained silent.

"Nana, do you know how to treat a wound like this?" Kouta asked.

Nana shook her head and said, "No, I never lost my horns, and I never saw others, except for Lucy and Mariko."

"Dammit…" Kouta muttered.

"Ban…dou…" Lucy whispered.

"What? That commando?"

"Maybe…he can…help…"

"He did save you before. But he did that because he felt he owed you didn't he? I'll try though," Kouta said.

Kouta really intended to do that, but Yuka said, "But then he'll know where she is. He might kill her."

"He…already…knows…where…I…am…"

"I'm going to look for Bandou; Yuka, you're coming with me," Kouta said.

"I'm not gonna kill her or anything you know," Yuka said.

"You're coming with me," Kouta repeated, his voice sounded plain, no emotion at all. It frightened Yuka. She felt a surge of anger towards Lucy. Now Kouta would hate her for ever. She purposely ignored the fact that she had actually confirmed Lucy's accusations.

"Nana, Mayu, take good care of Lucy while we're out. Here, take this cell phone. If anything happens, just press the Call button," Kouta said, handing a cell phone to Mayu.

Kouta and Yuka went outside. As soon as they exited the gate, Kouta said, "You disgust me Yuka. How could you think that if Lucy dies, I'd suddenly fall in love with you? You're my cousin for god's sake."

"But when we were kids…"

Kouta shook his head. "I was ten! Did you really think I understood love back then? And now that I say that, even back then I only liked you as a friend, I liked Lucy better back then as well."

"Kouta…" Yuka fought her tears, but Kouta paid no attention to her anymore.

"We have to search for Bandou, there's no time to stand around."

They searched for Bandou in silence. Kouta was really pissed off at Yuka, and Yuka was really sad because Kouta seemed to hate her now. First, they checked abandoned alleys, but without success. Suddenly, Kouta remembered that Bandou would probably in the beach cottage where he had hidden before.

"Bandou! Are you around here somewhere?" Kouta yelled.

The muscular man appeared from the back of the cottage. "What do you want, kid?" he asked.

"You saved Lucy's life, right?" Kouta asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, the wound of her left horn became infected. If we don't treat it, she might die. Could you help us?"

Bandou stared at Kouta like he was insane. "Help her? I saved her because she let me live, not because I want her to get better."

Kouta felt beaten, but Yuka said, "I thought that you wanted to kill her with your own hands? If she dies from this injury, then you won't have that pleasure."

Bandou thought about that for a moment, then he said, "I can't help you. I sort of treated her wound and stopped the bleeding, but I can't do much more than that."

Kouta wasn't gonna give up so easy. "Don't you know anyone who could help us?"

"Look, kid, I'd prefer to kill that bitch with my own hands, but if she dies from an infection, I won't mourn it either. I helped her once, because she spared me, and that's it."

"And you call yourself a man? You'd rather have your victim die by a disease than facing them on the battlefield?" Yuka said.

Bandou looked uneasy by that statement. "I can't help you! I'm not a medic, and I don't know any medics around here who can keep a secret. Look in the cabin, maybe there's something that can disinfect the wound. If there's nothing, well, than it's too bad."

Kouta sighed, and walked into the cabin. He searched the various drawers and shelves for something useful, but in the end, he only found a small bottle of disinfectant. "I guess this is it…" he muttered. He walked back outside, where Yuka and Bandou were still waiting.

"Did you find anything?" Yuka asked.

"This small bottle of disinfectant. I doubt it'll help us much, but it's better than having nothing at all."

"I guess we'll have to look somewhere else then, huh?" Yuka said. Kouta nodded and turned to face Bandou. "Maybe Lucy will live. If she dies, I'll tell you."

Bandou turned away and said, "Don't think I'll help you again. My debt is paid off, since she let me live twice."

"Thanks anyway. Let's go Yuka," Kouta said. When they were back on the road, Kouta said, "Thanks for backing me up." Yuka remained silent. "Well, I guess we should try to find more people who might be able to help us," Kouta continued. Yuka just nodded. She didn't want to talk to Kouta.

When he had been inside the cabin, Bandou had said, "So, you hate that bitch too, huh?" The question had startled Yuka, but she said, "Is it that obvious?"

Bandou grinned. "Yeah."

"I just can't stand her. All my life I've been trying to make Kouta love me and failed, but he knew her five minutes and already fell in love with her."

"So, then kill her."

"I can't. If I did, Kouta would surely hate me forever."

"He doesn't seem to like you really much now, and if you do it, it will cause him more pain than it would otherwise. That's a nice bonus, and for that I'd willingly step back and let you take all the credit."

Yuka had been troubled by that, but she said, "How can I kill her best?"

Bandou grinned wickedly and said, "Well, if you want to be inconspicuous, try to poison her. Rat poison works well. You could sneak in at night and choke her with a pillow, that's a classic and effective method to get rid of sick people. If you don't care about being noticed, just ram a knife or a pair of scissors in her throat. If she's really ill, she won't be able to use those freak-powers of her."

Yuka sighed, and said, "Kouta will never forgive me, but Lucy must die. I'll kill her."

"Good. I'll hear about it soon enough. Any ideas on the approach yet?"

"No. I'll think of that on the way home."

Yuka repeated that conversation over and over again in her head on the way home. She would try to kill Lucy, and she would do it that same night.

Kouta didn't suspect anything; he thought that Yuka was still sad about his outburst earlier. Kouta slightly regretted it, but he wasn't going to apologize to her. They walked back to the Inn, Kouta hadn't found anyone else who could help, and Yuka had been in her own little world the whole time, so she hadn't even tried to find someone.

"We're back!" Kouta yelled when he and Yuka entered the Inn.

"Welcome home!" Nana yelled back from somewhere in the Inn. T

hey walked to Lucy's room and Kouta asked, "How are things here?"

"Well, she got a fever again, but we weren't sure if it was important enough to call you," Mayu replied.

Kouta felt Lucy's forehead. She was incredibly hot, but Kouta thought it wasn't as bad the fever she had had a few days earlier. Nana came into the room and placed a wet towel on Lucy's forehead.

"Did you find Bandou, Kouta?" Nana asked.

"Yeah, but all we got was this little bottle of disinfectant. I don't think it will be enough, so I'll have to go out again and search for people who might be able to help." Kouta opened the bottle and poured a little of its content on the stump of Lucy's horn. She stiffened a little when the disinfectant hit the stump, but other than that, she didn't move.

Yuka looked at Lucy, and saw that Bandou had been right: There was no way Lucy could use her vectors in her current state.

"Kouta…" Lucy whispered.

"I'm here," he replied.

"Yuka…is…going to…kill me."

"She wouldn't do that. It's just the fever making you imagine things," Kouta said, but inwardly he felt worried. He would keep a sharp eye on Yuka, but he couldn't take her with him every time. He decided to handle this situation in another way.

When Yuka was out of the room for a moment he told Mayu and Nana to come closer. When they were within a meter of him, he whispered, "Lucy thinks that Yuka will try to harm her. After Yuka's statement this afternoon I'm not entirely sure that she won't. So, if you think she's doing something suspicious when I'm not here, Nana, you restrain her with your vectors, and Mayu, you call me on the cell phone." The two girls nodded, giving each other uncertain looks.

Kouta realized that they must be confused that Kouta, who they both saw as the 'father' of the Inn, didn't trust Yuka, the 'mother,' anymore. But to Kouta, it was most important that Lucy was safe. He would explain everything to them later. Kouta looked at Lucy, who had fallen asleep, and walked out of the room to get something to eat.

That night, when everyone had gone to bed, Kouta snuck into Lucy's room with a blanket and sat in the chair in the corner of the room. If something happened to Lucy, he wanted to be able to help.

Yuka, who didn't know that Kouta was in Lucy's room, was preparing herself mentally for killing Lucy. She had decided to suffocate her, but, in case things got nasty, she had a big knife too. She took a couple of deep breaths, then she stood up and walked toward Lucy's room. She opened the door and snuck in. She didn't see Kouta, who had fallen asleep in the chair. She raised her pillow and prepared to push it forcefully on Lucy's face. But one floorboard creaked a little, and woke Kouta, who was a light sleeper, up.

He saw the hunched figure with the pillow, and instinctively attacked. He tackled the figure and kept it pinned on the floor. "Nana! Mayu! Come over here! Someone is trying to kill Lucy!" Nana and Mayu came into the room and turned on the light. Kouta was shocked when he saw that he was keeping Yuka down.

"Yuka! What were you doing?!" Kouta demanded angrily.

"Kouta…you don't understand…I had no choice," Yuka said.

"Had no choice?! Of course you had! You know, I don't even want to hear your explanation. Just get out of this Inn. I don't want to see you here again."

"But I…"

"Don't! I won't forgive you for this. Get out. Just get out!" Kouta yelled, tears gleaming in his eyes. He didn't want to throw Yuka out, but he had no choice. If she stayed, she would surely try to kill Lucy again.

Yuka started to walk away but right before she exited the room, she drew the concealed knife and threw it with all her power at Lucy. Nana saw the gleaming blade fly through the air and extended one of her vectors, knocking the knife aside and causing it to fall harmlessly on the floor. Kouta was stunned. He couldn't believe Yuka. Even after being found out, she still didn't give up. Yuka ran out of the Inn, Kouta looked after her sadly. When had Yuka become a killer? He'd never noticed that before. Did she really think that becoming a murderer would make Kouta love her? Kouta shook his head.

He walked over to Lucy and felt her forehead. Her fever hadn't gone down, but it hadn't become worse, either.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I didn't think Yuka would go this far," Kouta said softly to Nana and Mayu.

He felt like crying, but wasn't going to break in front of Nana and Mayu. Mayu seemed shocked as well. She had really liked Yuka, and now it turned out that she was a murderer. Nana had liked Yuka too, but she had always felt a little jumpy around her, although she never really understood why. Kouta sat down with a sigh. He had to explain everything to Nana and Mayu, he owed them that.

"I guess it's time for me to tell you two something. Yuka was, and I guess still is, jealous of Lucy. She has been in love with me since we were children. I always saw her as just my friend and cousin. When I met Lucy, I immediately liked her. Maybe more than liked her, but I'm not entirely sure if it was love back then. The love Yuka felt for me never vanished, and I when I came here again, with no memories of my last visit, she still loved me. Then we found Lucy on the beach. But Lucy, too, had lost her memory; she now had a split personality: Nyu and the real Lucy. Even though I didn't remember her, I fell in love with her again. With Nyu, actually. Yuka couldn't stand that, and started to hate Lucy for it. That became worse when Lucy started to be herself more often again, and I was slowly recovering my memory as well. After the massacre on the bridge, both Lucy and I had our memories back completely. I thought she died after that, but I noticed that when Lucy returned, Yuka's mood worsened. I guessed it was just a little jealousy at first but now…"

Kouta sighed and looked sadly at Mayu and Nana. "I'm really sorry this happened. If Yuka ever gets over her jealousy, I might ask her to return here, but for now, she just can't stay here. It's too dangerous. Not for you two, but for Lucy. We'd better try to get some sleep again, you can go back to your rooms or stay here; I'm staying here in case something happens again."

Nana and Mayu looked at each other and Mayu said, "We'll stay here too, we don't want to be alone tonight." Kouta smiled a little and said, "Yuka would never harm you. And even if she tried, Nana could restrain her."

"We can't sleep anyway after something like this," Mayu said. Kouta nodded and said, "I understand that. Well, I'm gonna try and get some sleep anyway, you go get a blanket and come back here if you want to."

Mayu nodded and she walked to the bedroom she and Nana shared.

Nana looked at the ceiling and muttered, "So that was it…"

"What was what?" Kouta asked.

Nana shook her head and said, "A strange feeling I always got from Yuka, I can't explain it, but it's like I always knew something like this would happen."

"Do you have that with all humans?"

"No, only with Yuka, that's why it's so strange."

Kouta thought about that, then said, "Lucy felt exactly the same about her."

Mayu returned to the room and tossed Nana a pillow and a blanket. Kouta sighed and said, "Well, we'd better try to get some sleep. I hope Lucy's a little better by tomorrow."

Lucy had listened in silence to the conversation, pretending to be asleep. She felt relieved now that Kouta had kicked Yuka out. Lucy wasn't afraid of Yuka, but in her state she couldn't fight back, and was an easy target. Now that Yuka was gone, she could finally rest without having to look out for crazed bitches. She smiled a little at the thought that she was finally rid of Yuka now, and fell asleep again.

The days after that Lucy's fever climbed steadily, and Kouta went out to find people who might be able to help Lucy, while Mayu and Nana took care of her. One day, Kouta had just left in search of a person who could help Lucy and keep his mouth shut about it, and Nana and Mayu were in the kitchen doing the dishes from breakfast. Suddenly, Nana felt strange. Anxious.

"I'm gonna check on Lucy. I have a strange feeling…" she said.

"Okay, warn me if I have to call Kouta." Nana nodded and walked to Lucy's bedroom.

When she entered, she saw a figure in a black suit. The figure held a dagger in his right hand and struck at Lucy. Nana reacted immediately and used one of her vectors to cut off the right leg of the attacker. There was a spray of blood and the attacker fell, causing the attack to miss, but he raised the dagger again for another attempt. Nana reacted by cutting off the blade arm too. Another crimson fountain sprayed across the room, and this time, the attacker gave a loud scream of pain. Nana was shocked when she recognized it.

"Yuka?!"

Nana ran to Lucy's attacker and removed the hood from the face. It was indeed Yuka. Her face was pale and she was breathing heavily. "Mayu! Call Kouta! Now!" Nana yelled.

"Okay!" Mayu yelled from the kitchen. "Kouta? You have to come back as soon as possible; someone attacked Lucy again and…" At that moment, she walked into the bedroom and saw the blood and dismembered Yuka. "Oh god, Yuka! Kouta, it was Yuka! Come quickly!" Mayu hung up the phone and ran over to Nana.

"Nana, why did you do this?" Mayu asked in shock.

"I…I…Yuka was hooded…I…" Nana started to cry now. Mayu wrapped her arms around Nana and said, "Don't worry, it's gonna be okay." She knew it wouldn't be that easy, but she had to try to make Nana feel a little better.

"I didn't mean to…Nana's a good girl, Nana never hurts people…" Nana sobbed.

Mayu just held her. She really didn't know what to do. At that moment Kouta stormed in, followed by a tall man with brown hair. "Oh my god, Yuka! What happened?!" Kouta said.

The brown-haired man looked at Yuka and said, "If noting is done quickly, she'll bleed out. I'll help her." Kouta nodded and turned to Nana and Mayu.

"Tell me what happened," he said again, this time a little calmer.

Nana looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "I got a strange feeling when we were washing the dishes and went to check on Lucy. I saw someone in a black suit attack her, and the only thing I could do was attack. I cut the leg off to stop the attacker, but she attacked again, so I also cut off her blade arm. When she screamed I knew it was…" She broke down again.

"Who's that man, Kouta?" Mayu asked.

"He's Doctor Torashi Torichi, a surgeon. He was willing to help, since he knew about the Diclonius. When he was younger, a Diclonius girl was his friend. She got shot and the doctors couldn't save her; he decided then to become a doctor himself and never let any of his patients die. When I said the word Diclonius he was especially eager to help and he swore never to tell anyone."

Dr. Torashi was bandaging Yuka's leg wound now, her arm didn't bleed much anymore because the wound had been bound off with strong rope. After half an hour, both of Yuka's stumps had been bandaged. Torashi turned around and said, "I think she'll make it. She lost a lot of blood, but we were quick enough with treating it."

Kouta looked relieved, he might have been really angry with Yuka; he still didn't want her to die. He wasn't as relieved though, as Nana, who'd been terrified by the thought that she had unwillingly killed Yuka.

"Thanks Torashi-san, you saved my cousin's life," Kouta said.

"No problem, but I believe I'm here for this girl, right?" Torashi said, indicating Lucy, who had also been covered in blood after Nana's attack on Yuka.

"Yes, can you examine her?" Kouta asked anxiously.

Torashi nodded and said, "Why don't you take these girls outside, along with your cousin; I'll examine this girl here." Kouta nodded and said, "Mayu and Nana, you go outside, I'll help Yuka out." The girls nodded and left the room, Mayu's arm still around Nana's shoulder.

Kouta walked to Yuka, who had passed out, and gently lifted her off the ground. He carried her outside and put her in her former bed. Nana and Mayu had gone outside; Mayu was trying to cheer Nana up. Kouta felt sorry for Nana. She had done the only thing she could do at that moment. He didn't feel angry toward her, because he knew that Nana would never intentionally hurt someone badly. He walked back to Lucy's room and sat on the floor opposite the door, leaning against the wall. After more than an hour, Torashi finally came out of the room. Kouta looked up and said, "Will she be okay?"

Torashi looked him in the eyes and said, "She has a very serious infection in the stump of her left horn. It did some tests to see if it has spread, and the test results were positive. That means the infection has spread through the brain. I gave her powerful antibiotics, but the prognosis isn't good."

Kouta looked panicked. "But she has to survive. She can't die, she can't!" he shouted.

"I'm sorry Kouta, but I can't do much more. The infection spread through her entire brain, the only chance she has are those antibiotics and her natural immune system. Diclonius are very hard to kill, but, like I said, the prognosis isn't good. She might survive and recover completely in time, but it's more likely that the infection will first cause extreme pain in the whole body, which gets increasingly worse, until eventually the brain dies, thus killing her."

Kouta dropped to his knees. Tears filled his eyes and he whispered, "No…Lucy…"

Torashi looked at him and was reminded of himself as a young kid, when that Diclonius girl, Kim, was in the hospital after being shot by a superstitious cop who had thought she was a demon. Kim had been his only true friend, and he had been hers. She had died after lying in the hospital for three weeks. The cop who shot her was sentenced to three years in prison. Torashi had always found that way too short. Later he had learned that the cop who had shot Kim had been killed in a gang war. Torashi had been so happy when Kim was avenged, but still, even now, he felt the pain of losing her.

And now something similar might happen to this young man, Kouta. Torashi had done everything he possibly could, but he feared that the hornless Diclonius girl, Lucy, would die. He knew that if she died, Kouta would be depressed for life, which made it even harder for him.

"I'm sorry Kouta. I'm sorry there's nothing more I can do," Torashi said.

Kouta looked up, tears streaming down his face. "It's not your fault doctor. You did everything you could, it's just that, I love her and I don't want to lose her. Not in a million years."

Torashi smiled sadly and said, "If it's any comfort to you: if the treatment doesn't work, even then she has about three days to live. I know that's almost nothing, but it's better than instant death, at least, for a Diclonius that is. Most humans would prefer to die when they are forced to feel the agony she is probably feeling and going to feel, but Diclonius are born survivors, and they have a higher tolerance for pain than normal humans. Why don't you go to her and talk a bit. Even if the treatment helps, she'll probably be unconscious the next few days."

Kouta nodded and rubbed his eyes. "I'll do that. Torashi-san, thank you for everything. Even if Lucy…I'll be grateful forever."

Torashi smiled and said, "I'll stay in the area, be sure to come and see me when this is over, whether it is good or bad."

Kouta nodded and said, "That's a deal. How much do I owe you?"

Torashi sighed and said, "My dream since Kim died was to be doctor who would never let anyone die, but especially to be able to save a Diclonius, in memory of Kim. You gave me a chance to put that dream to the test. You owe me nothing."

Kouta was surprised by this. "But…you also helped Yuka, and those medicines must've been expensive…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm not exactly a poor person, so I won't die of starvation." Torashi smiled. "Really, it's okay. Now, I'm off, you should go talk to Lucy." He gave Kouta a card with an address. "This is the hotel I'm staying at. Be sure to visit me. Bye."

"Bye, and thank you…"

Torashi nodded to Kouta and walked off. Kouta entered Lucy's bedroom. He sat on his knees next to her head. Her horn stump had been bandaged. The other stump had been left untouched.

"I'm as good as dead huh?" Lucy said, keeping her voice as neutral as she possibly could.

"Don't think like that," Kouta told her. "You're gonna be fine, I know it."

Lucy smiled sadly. "I really don't want to leave you. The time I spent with you…I don't want it to end like this," she ended in a whisper. Tears gleamed in her eyes.

"You won't die. You can't die. I don't want to lose you again. Not because of something like this."

"Kouta, I…I…" Lucy's voice broke and she cried quietly.

Kouta held her hand and cried with her.

"Kouta…if I die…just remember the good times we had…"

Kouta really tried to control the emotion in his voice when he said, "Don't think like that…"

"I mean it…I don't want to cause you any more pain. I don't want you to cry anymore…" Lucy took a couple of deep breaths before she continued. "I want you to know…that whatever happens…I'll love you forever…"

Kouta bent forward and put his forehead on Lucy's. "I love you…I love you…" he said. "Kouta…kiss me one last time, so that if I die, I'll have some good last memories."

Kouta did as she asked, kissing her soft lips one last time. Lucy put her arms around him, and they lay like that for about five minutes. Then Lucy let go of Kouta and said, "It's time that you left. The pain is unbearable, and not just physically. I don't think I'll be awake much the next days, but I think the doctor told you that already."

Kouta sighed and stood up. He walked to the door and said, "Goodbye Lucy, sleep well." "Goodbye Kouta…" Kouta exited the room. When he shut the door, Lucy cried in silence.

This is where the main story ends, now it's up to you to decide if Lucy lives or not. I'll write both endings anyway, so maybe that I upload the ending that wasn't chosen somewhere in the future anyway. I'll choose the ending with the most votes, of course.


	2. Ending

Sorry it took me so long to upload, but I didn't feel like writing for a while. Please don't kill me : P

Disclaimer: I don't own Elfen Lied or any of its characters. I do own Torashi Torichi.

Yuka lay in what used to be her bed. The stumps of her arm and leg hurt like hell, but it couldn't be helped. Nana had crippled her for life. She was incredibly angry. Her attempt to kill Lucy had ended in the amputation of her right arm and leg, not something she had planned for. But she had regained consciousness soon enough to hear the doctor's prediction. Lucy would probably die, and then she would have Kouta to herself. In her mind, which was still clouded from the blood loss, she actually thought that Kouta would forgive her. With a smile, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Kouta went outside, to talk to Mayu and Nana. When they saw him approach, they walked to him.

"How is she? Will she be okay?" Mayu asked.

Kouta sighed and said, "The doctor said that there is a very big chance that Lucy will die."

Mayu and Nana looked shocked. Lucy had returned from the dead, and now she was going to die after all? It couldn't be.

"No way. Nothing can kill Lucy-san," Nana said.

"I don't like it either, but we have to accept the possibility that…Lucy will…die…" Kouta's voice broke when he said those last three words.

Nana shook her head. "No! No! Lucy won't die because of something like this!" Nana yelled.

Kouta was surprised by Nana's outburst. At first, Nana had wanted to kill Lucy, and Lucy had wanted to kill Nana. But after Lucy had returned and said she didn't want to kill anymore, Nana had begun to like her. Mayu had remained silent, but Kouta knew that she was taking it hard. Mayu had always liked Lucy, or to be more accurate Nyu. But because Lucy wasn't going to kill anymore, Mayu liked Lucy a lot too.

"Mayu, are okay?" Kouta asked gently. Mayu just nodded, but Kouta could see the tears in her eyes. He felt really sorry for her and Nana. You see, it was his task to comfort them, but he felt so screwed up himself that he couldn't. He couldn't bear the thought that Lucy might die. He shook his head, and mentally told himself to snap out of it. Lucy wasn't dead yet, and she wasn't going to either. But still, Kouta couldn't stop thinking about it.

"I'm going out for a while. Will you two be okay?" Kouta asked.

Mayu nodded and said, "Yeah. We'll be fine..."

Kouta realized again that he should try to reassure Mayu and Nana, but he didn't even have one positive thought. He left the Maple Inn and walked to the stairs where he and Lucy had said goodbye, before she had walked to her death. At first, he didn't even realize where he was going, but when he got there, he realized he had gone there for a reason. Here he could think without being disturbed. He sat on the steps, on the exact same place as that night. He thought about the day he had first met Lucy. She had seemed so lonely that it had hurt Kouta, even before he knew her. He remembered that she hated her horns, and wished they were gone.

He felt a stab of pain at the irony of it. All her life, she'd been treated like crap because of her horns, and now that they were gone, she was going to die. Kouta felt the tears burn again, but he blinked a few times to get rid of them. He wouldn't cry anymore. But even though he didn't cry, he still felt miserable, and being here, on these stairs, made things worse. There were too many memories.

Kouta didn't think about the death of his sister and father, he didn't want to think of the bad times, he only thought about all the fun Lucy and he had had together, both when they were kids, and the short time they had had now. He looked at his watch, and saw to his amazement that he had been here for nearly three hours. He sighed and stood up; Nana and Mayu were probably wondering where he was.

When he got back to the Inn, he noticed it was unusually quiet. Normally, when Mayu and Nana were home alone, there would be incredible noise. Stuff falling over, Mayu's desperate pleas to Nana to watch out, but now, there was nothing. Not even the slightest sound.

Kouta stepped in and yelled, "I'm back!"

Mayu walked up to him from the hallway and whispered, "Sshhh. Everyone's asleep. I'm the only who's still awake."

"Asleep? But it's only six o'clock," Kouta whispered back, sounding surprised.

Mayu nodded. "I know, but Nana said she wasn't hungry and went to bed. Lucy and Yuka, well, it's obvious that they're asleep, especially Lucy, considering her fever hasn't gone down." Kouta was Troubled by Mayu's words. Nana had never passed up on dinner.

"I hope Nana is okay. I don't want her to get sick as well," Kouta said.

"I don't, either. That's why I insisted to check her temperature. She didn't want to, but I kept nagging until she gave in. She doesn't have a fever, so I guess she's just a little depressed."

Kouta was amazed by Mayu. She was way more mature than her appearance suggested.

"Good thing you checked it out. If she's just depressed, she'll probably get over it when Lucy gets better. We have to keep an eye on her though. If she keeps refusing to eat, she'll get sick too."

Mayu looked troubled. "Should I get her for dinner?"

Kouta shook his head. "It won't hurt her if she skips dinner this once, but be sure to leave something in the fridge for her. She might get hungry tonight and decide to eat something."

Mayu was relieved that Kouta thought that Nana would be okay; she really wouldn't have known what to do if Nana had been sick as well. Kouta and Mayu ate their dinner in silence. They were too worried about Lucy and, to some extent, Nana. The reason they didn't worry about Yuka was that doctor Torashi had said that she would be okay, and Mayu had brought her something to eat. Mayu knew that Yuka wasn't able to cut her food, so she had done that for her.

After dinner, both Kouta and Mayu went to bed. Kouta lay in his own bed at first, but he couldn't sleep, so he took up his stuff and went to sleep in Lucy's room. Lucy was fast asleep, and her fever, as Mayu had said, was still as high as it had been. But despite that Kouta felt better being the same room with her, and eventually, lying right next to her, he fell asleep.

The next day, Lucy was constantly in pain. Even though she was unconscious, she felt it in her feverish dreams. The rare moments that she was awake were even worse than the dreams. Her head felt like someone was ramming a spike into it. The rest of her body hurt like hell too, but compared to her headache, the rest of her body felt like it was being massaged. Kouta was by her side constantly, trying to lower her fever with wet, cold towels.

Nana had come out of bed to eat again, but most of the day, she was lying in bed, leaving all the chores to Mayu. Kouta didn't like that, so he told her to go and help Mayu, something she only did reluctantly. It was like that for two days.

On the third day, Lucy's pain had reached new heights, and her fever had risen with one degree Celsius. (Don't know how many Fahrenheit) Everyone was in Lucy's room. Kouta was completely panicked. He thought that this would be the end. Lucy was conscious now, and despite the pain, was telling Kouta to be strong for her.

"I don't want to die while you're crying Kouta. Be strong. For me." Then a spasm of pain ran down her spine. "Kouta...I love you...Aaagh!"

Kouta looked at her, tears streaming down his face. Nana and Mayu were as white as ghosts, but they didn't cry. "Lucy...I love you too, keep fighting. You never lost a fight, don't lose now!"

Tears of pain and emotion streamed from Lucy's eyes. Every second, the pain got worse. Memories flashed through her mind randomly, and she heard the soft tones of the Lilium music box in her head. Those tones symbolized all her happy memories.

"Lucy..." Kouta couldn't speak anymore; he was so nervous, no, scared by what he saw and felt, that he could hardly breathe. After what seemed like an eternity, Lucy cried out for the last time; a scream of pain and sadness. As her mind darkened, she thought, 'Farewell, Kouta. You were the best friend I ever had. I love you more than life...'

Kouta looked at Lucy. She lay completely still and didn't seem to breathe. "No...no...NO!" Kouta yelled.

He bent over Lucy and cried. But then... "Kouta! Look! She's breathing!" Mayu stared at Lucy disbelievingly.

She was still alive. Kouta rubbed his eyes and looked at Lucy. He saw that Mayu was right. Lucy was breathing, but with short, choked bursts. Almost as if she was panting. But at least she was alive. A wave of happiness washed over Kouta. He knew that he might be celebrating to early, but he didn't care. Lucy was still alive. A couple of hours later, Lucy's breathing was regular again, and her fever had dropped with 1,5 degree (Again, Celsius) It gave Kouta, Mayu and Nana new hope.

Three days later, Lucy woke up. Her head still hurt like hell, but the pain in her body had disappeared completely. The first thing she realized when she woke up, was that Kouta lay next to her, sleeping. Lucy gently shook him to wake him up. As soon as Kouta was completely awake, he realized that Lucy was up too. "You're better!" he yelled.

"Not completely, my head still hurts, and my fever isn't completely gone either," Lucy said.

Kouta didn't listen. "This is great! Come on, we have to go tell Nana and Mayu!"

Even though Lucy had an enormous headache, she couldn't help but smile at Kouta's happiness. He was acting like a little kid. But she didn't care, in fact, she would've joined him if she hadn't been sure she'd collapse from her headache. She stood up, slowly, and followed Kouta to the room of Mayu and Nana.

"Lucy's awake! She's okay now!" Kouta yelled.

"What? Is the house on fire?" Mayu asked, sounding really sleepy.

"I'll get up, five more minutes..." Nana mumbled and turned around in her bed.

"No you sleepy heads, Lucy's awake!" Kouta yelled again.

Lucy really amazed herself over Kouta, she'd never seen him so hyper before. Now Mayu and Nana were waking up. "What? Lucy is awake? Where is she?" Mayu asked.

"I'm here," Lucy said.

"How are you feeling?" Lucy smiled a little and said, "I've felt better, but I've felt worse as well. I think I'll be okay soon."

Mayu smiled when Lucy said that. "I'm glad to hear that. But shouldn't you be resting instead of walking around?"

Lucy shot a look at Kouta, who sweatdropped, grinned sheepishly and said, "Maybe you're right, Mayu. I guess I got carried away a little..." Everyone laughed at Kouta, who was getting redder with each passing second.

Lucy grew serious again and said, "Mayu is right. I should be resting. I doubt I'm already fully recovered, so I'm going back to bed. Besides, it's the middle of the night. You should get some sleep as well, because somehow I get the feeling that you haven't slept much the past few days."

Kouta nodded in agreement. "I was up most of the time; I wanted to be there for you when you woke up, and I didn't want to fall asleep because I thought something bad would happen."

Lucy couldn't help but smile. Kouta had been even more worried about than she'd thought. To give up all his time to be with her...he really was a special person.

Meanwhile, Yuka had woken up form all the noise. She had listened to the conversation through the thin walls and was furious that Lucy was okay again. 'What do I have to do to get rid of her?!' she thought. 'With only one arm and leg, I couldn't do much even if she was still sick. Now that she's okay, she won't hesitate to slaughter me if I try something.' Yuka tried to think of something, anything, she could do to kill Lucy. When she hadn't thought of something within an hour, she decided to go back to sleep. She'd find a way to kill her; there was always a way.

The next day, Kouta, Lucy, Mayu and Nana visited Dr. Torashi in his hotel. It was a huge, luxurious building, and the rooms in it weren't small either.

"Welcome, my friends, to my temporary home," Torashi said.

The group was so struck by the hugeness of the hotel room, that they didn't reply immediately.

Torashi grinned. "Surprised by the size of this room? I told I wasn't poor," he added to Kouta with a wink.

Kouta sort of regained his composure and said, "We came to thank you. You saved Lucy's life, and on top of that, you treated Yuka as well."

Torashi waved his hand dismissively. "I told you, for me it was an oppurtunity to test my dream. Thanks to you I feel like I've paid my debt to Kim."

Lucy stepped forward and said, "You've known a Diclonius?"

Torashi nodded. "Yes, I told you when I was treating you, but I guess it didn't stick in your feverish state. She was shot by a cop who thought she was a demon."

Lucy looked bitter. "Humans are fools...treating everything and everyone who's different like crap. Fortunately, there are also people who aren't so stupid," she said, and smiled at Kouta and the Doctor.

"I'm glad you saved Yuka, I don't want to be a murderer..." Nana said, looking at the floor.

"You did the only thing you could do, Nana. If you hadn't reacted I would've been dead now. Besides, she only lost an arm and a leg, you didn't stab out her eyes or something like that," Lucy said. Nana wasn't completely reassured, but she looked a little less troubled now. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking with Torashi. Before they had left home, Mayu had left Yuka food and something to drink, so she could take care of herself.

When they got home, Lucy sensed something strange. When she realized what it was, she relaxed. They entered, and leaning against the wall, stood Yuka, holding a makeshift crutch (a plank from her bed) under her arm and in her hand a knife. Lucy calmly extended a vector and pulled the knife from Yuka's hand.

"Go ahead, kill me! That's what you want to do, don't you?!" Yuka screamed in madness.

"As much as I may dislike you, I don't wish your death. The other way around is more accurate, I think. I won't deny that I can't stand you, but I won't hurt you. I don't want to cause Kouta any more pain," Lucy said.

"So if Kouta wasn't there, I would be dead now?!" "If Kouta hadn't been there, I would have killed every human being on the planet and not give a damn about it. However, Kouta has taught me something that is stronger than violence: Love. He showed me that it is possible to love someone under the most unlikely circumstances. I killed his family and he still loves me. For him, I've given up killing, and I don't even want to any more."

Yuka looked at the floor bitterly. "I will kill you, Lucy. One day, I'll kill you."

Kouta couldn't believe this. Even after having her arm and leg cut off, Yuka still wanted to kill Lucy. "Yuka, how can you say something like that?! No, don't say anything, I don't even want to know. Tomorrow, I'm bringing you to a mental institute. You're too dangerous to stay here."

Yuka looked up, seemingly terrified. "No, Kouta, you can't do that! I love you!"

Kouta shook his head in disgust. "If you love me, you'd want me to be happy, even if that means that you can't be with me. Instead, you try to kill Lucy hoping that I'll fall in love with you. That will never happen." Lucy knew that Kouta didn't find it easy to tell this to Yuka, but she was glad that he did it anyway. That night, Lucy and Kouta slept together again for the first time in nearly two weeks. (A/N no, they don't do perverted stuff)

The next day, Kouta took Yuka to a clinic. After explaining what had happened, with some small changes as to the cause of her injuries, Yuka was taken in.

"Don't worry sir, we'll give her a thorough check, and do everything we can to get her back to normal as soon as possible."

Kouta thanked the doctors, and went back home. When he got there, he noticed that there was an unusual amount of activity in the inn.

"What's going on here?" he asked Lucy.

Lucy grinned and pulled a letter from her pocket. She waved it before Kouta's eyes and said, "Doctor Torashi is inviting us on a holiday, on the edge of his old town. We're busy packing our stuff."

Kouta's eyes widened and he said, "Show me that letter."

'Dear Kouta, Lucy, Nana and Mayu,

I'd like to invite all of you on a holiday in my chalet on the outskirts of my home town.

The environment there is beautiful, and everything we need can be bought in the city. I'm

not going to tell you the name of the city yet, that will stay a surprise until we get there. I'll

come over tomorrow to pick you all up.

Regards,

Torashi'

Kouta grinned and said, "Well, I'd better get packing." He smiled at Lucy, who smiled back, and started packing for their holiday.

Well, that's it. Hope you all liked it : )


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